Marvel Mangaverse

While on vacation at the end of May, I picked up numerous trade paperbacks at half price or better at various sales throughout town, including this Marvel Mangaverse. A compilation of six one-shots published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2002 featuring an alternate Marvel Universe, its characters drawn and portrayed in the Manga style. I read some Manga for the first time only a month before, a couple issues of Spider-Man The Manga my mother got me for my birthday, 90's reprints originally published in the early 70's. I enjoyed these so much I had to pick up Marvel Magaverse when I saw it on sale for seven bucks! There's a great deal of comedy throughout the book, visually and throughout the dialogue. The reimagined heroes of the Marvel Universe are even more colorful and exaggerated than usual- similar to their Western counterparts, but different in their outrageous Manga rendering.

Iron Maiden/Antoinette "Toni" Stark, former S.H.I.E.L.D agent and sister of Tony Stark. Also the current owner of Stark Industries and love interest of Bruce Banner, who is working for her company...

In Spider Scroll, Spider-Man the teenage ninja looks to avenge his Sendai's murder by the villainous Venom as scion of the Spider Clan... !!

The Punisher is featured in a separate storyline, Kind To Be Cruel. Referred to as "Tokyo's kinkiest superhero", this female school principal dresses as a geisha, and induces "punishment" by tickling with feathers and paddling! Hilarious!

The Avengers (Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Vision, & Hawkeye) battle Apocalypse in separate craft that combine to form Ultimate Iron Man...

The Hulk: Dr. Bruce Banner gained the ability to summon gods after being exposed to gamma radiation when reconstructing "the Energy Well" for Stark Industries. A completely separate being, the Mangaverse Hulk is merely summoned into existence by Banner. Like Godzilla, this Hulk is several stories tall, serving the dread Dormammu against the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men & Spider-Man.

Baron Strucker manipulates Sub-Mariner's hatred for Iron Man and the Avengers into his scheme to awake Dormammu..

 In their chapter titled Equinox, The X-Men battle Magnus, who has taken over Colossus' body, depicted as a metal Sumo here. Unlike the mainstream Marvel Universe, the alternate Manga versions of Nightcrawler & Beast join Mystique against Storm, Jean, Cyclops, Wolverine, Psyche, and Rogue (who channels the Dark Pheonix throught con tact with Jean Grey. A fun romp with this scrappy version of the X-Men! Great!

Like the X-Men, the Fantastic Four are somewhat altered in this book, featured in their own chapter and returning at the end to face Strucker, Dormammu, & Hulk. Reed Richards is director of the response team, who utilize augmentation suits to magnify their metatalents. Jonatha Storm is Sioux Storm's half-sister, however, and Richards is a chauvinistic narcissist who uses his elasticity to stretch the neurons within his brain to increase his intelligence. It's pretty funny  :D

 Thor is incarnated using Banner as a focus by Dr. Strange, who quickly dispatches the Hulk and leads the fight against Dormammu...  

All kinds of other Marvel characters make appearances as well: boy genius/rock star Hank Pym who controls ants with his guitar, Wasp, employee of Stark Industries and the creator of W.A.S.P. (Winged Amplification Surge Plasma) which allows her to fly, and Black Panther, who is desired by Dr. Strange's assistant Tigra, to name a few. This was a fun book, and if I run into any of the other volumes, I will undoubtedly purchase them. Some people don't like their heroes' continuity messed with, but I enjoy different interpretations on a theme. Reinventing Marvel's characters was done with great imagination and humor here, and I'd recommend the book to any Marvel fan!

More Later- Make It FUN!

Spider-Man: The Manga #6... The Lizard!

Another birthday present my folks picked up were a couple late 90's issues of Spider-Man The Manga, originally published from 1970-1971. Marvel had licenced it's popular character properties out to Japanese companies, in this case Monthly Shōnen Magazine, which then reimagined the webslinger's origins. In Spider-Man: The Manga, Yu Komori is the teenage science student bitten by a radioactive spider instead of Peter Parker, becoming Tokyo's greatest hero! I found the simplicity of these stories and the drawings very charming, and their melodramatic narrative of the shy, conflicted Yu Komori romantic. While I realize a lot of you readers may dismiss the value of these, particularly Ryoichi Ikegami's drawings. But I'd suggest an adjustment of your expectations upon viewing these works created by an artist from a different culture and decade. And remember art appreciation: you wouldn't expect Shel Silverstein to draw in the same way as John Romita.

Manga is the Japanese word for "whimsical drawings", and a pop culture term used outside Japan referring to comics published there. Historians on the subject divide this art culturally and historically at the point following Japan's surrender at the end of World War II, after which a new period of creativity flourished during the rebuilding of Japan's economic infrastructure, bringing the influence of the modern Manga we know today. (Wikipedia)

Originally published as "The Transformation of Doctor Inumaru" (reprinted in Spider-Man: The Manga #4-6), this story arc involves the Marvel villain we know as The Lizard. We pick up about 1/3 the way through here, Yu Komori following  The Lizard has kidnapped Yu's friend, Araki, offering to trade his life for the formula to Koda Pharmeceuticals' new medicine, developed by Araki's father.  Spider-Man secretly accompanies him to the drop-off, the Miyashiro Zoo, hoping to capture the Lizard.

Listening from a high window in the crocodile house, Spider-Man is shocked to hear Doctor Inumaru's story of murderous deception: Araki's father had attempted to murder him on a herbal expedition in the South Pacific for a Japanese pharmaceutical association. Having pushed Dr. Inumaru off a cliff in order to claim the rewards of the field research for himself, Araki's father left him in a terrible place, surrounded by gigantic lizards! He survived their attacks, but in his singular will for survival, Dr. Inumaru's body took on a "Darwinian change" as he continuously imitated the lizards movements. Now when he becomes stressed, a complete transformation occurs, as an urge to slaughter as they did fills his mind!

"But don't forget... you're the monster wearing human skin!" Dr. Inumaru reminds the scientist, throwing the bound Araki to the thrashing crocodiles!

A shocked Spider-Man leaps from his vantage point, literally pulling Araki from the jaws of death at the last moment. "You ruined my plan, " Dr. Inumaru shouts in anger, "I'll kill you!" 

...and with that, Dr. Inumaru transforms into the Lizard right before their eyes!

Spider-Man tries to reason with him, "Doctor! It's me, Komori!", but the monster is on a mindless rampage, not recognizing his former young acquaintance. Fearing for his life, the young hero knocks the Lizard into the crocodile pool with a mighty punch, clinging to the rails with his feet!

Realizing the Lizard has returned to his human form, Yu covers his face in horror & regret, realizing Dr. Inumaru has met his gruesome fate!

Spider-Man realizes the dubious result of rescuing Araki and his father, that the death of the cursed Dr. Inumaru to save them was wrong, even if unavoidable. He leaves the scene without a word, a lesson learned- that it is sometimes difficult to recognize true evil, often hidden within men.

The final page shows Yu walking home alone under the streetlights as a military convoy passes by, his long hair blowing across his boyish face, leaves swirling around his feet... a stereotypically, forlorn manga youth. I'll admit that I'm a complete novice to manga, my only related experiences being the anime I experienced watching Battle of the Planets and Speed Racer as a kid, but I'm of the opinion that Spider-Man translates well. Caught between boy and man, the conflicted and awkward nature of Yu Komori is really the essence of the character's mythos as well as the often adolescent melodrama of modern manga. 

More Later-Make It FUN!